Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence are transforming many areas of our lives at an unprecedented speed.
In addition to the world of work, communication and finance, the health industry now faces many new opportunities, but also not a few dangers.
With brand new tools available to specialists and novices, if their use is not regulated, the threat of errors in diagnosis and the release of laboratory superbugs puts the lives of ten million people at risk.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is time to regulate the use of tools that use linguistic models generated by Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT, Bard or Bert to protect and promote the safety, autonomy and well-being of people while preserving public health.
This technology has the potential to save lives and personalize treatments, but it is also especially vulnerable to data errors.
The meteoric rise of these technologies filled with enthusiasm many professionals who believe that they can become effective tools in the hands of researchers and health personnel, victims of great pressure and the deterioration of their workspaces.
However, the precautions taken against new technologies, especially in the field of health, seem not to be taken into account with generative Artificial Intelligence.
WHO denounces that fundamental values such as transparency, inclusion, public collaboration, expert oversight and rigor in evaluations are being neglected.
Culture of superbugs. Photo: Clarín Archive.
This technology, which has the potential to save lives and easily personalize different treatments to make them more effective, is especially vulnerable to errors in the data.
While there is a one in a million chance that a person will be injured on a plane trip, the chance that a patient will suffer negative consequences in treatment for misinformation is 1 in 300.
Although the possibility of replacing the advice of a professional with ChatGPT seems far-fetched, the shortage of doctors increases the pressure of its use.
For WHO, by 2030 there will be a shortfall of 10 million health workers, mainly in low- and lower-middle-income countries, making it increasingly difficult to provide care to all people who need it.
The use of Artificial Intelligence by patients and their families is compounded by the practices of some laboratories: in different countries it is being used in the creation of artificial organisms.
The hypothetical accidental release of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that already exist in some research centers is a possibility that many take seriously.
In February this year, the UN issued a harsh document warning that superbugs, tolerant of high temperatures and alkaline conditions, could cause the next pandemic and up to 10 million deaths each year by 2050.
This is not an alarmist scenario that should leave us worried, but a warning to start thinking about responsible legislation that is up to the task.
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